Sudden Response (8 page)

but he had no business working in this particular residential program. Granted he'd known some really small guys that could

kick ass when it came down to it, but judging by the way this man kept sending the patients nervous glances and shifting away

from them, Eric really doubted that was the case with this guy.

"A re they here for me, Donny?" the linebacker demanded.

The twig named Donny noticeably swallowed and stepped back as he tried to wave it off. "No, they're not here for you, John."

The linebacker glared at Donny for another moment before nodding firmly and returning to his game. No doubt if the man was

lying John would break him in two.

"What's going on today?" Joe asked Donny.

Donny bit his lip nervously. "We're having problems getting one of our patients to take his medication tonight," he admitted.

Eric shared a look with Joe as he ran a frustrated hand through his short hair. "Has the patient attacked anyone? Threatened to

hurt himself or been requested by his doctor to be removed from the property?" he asked, trying to keep the frustration he was

feeling out of his tone. There had better be a damn good reason for them being held over.

A damn good one.

Donny sighed dramatically. "We're hoping your presence will scare him into taking his pills."

Even though Joe was a good two feet away from him now he felt her go absolutely still the same time he did.

"You called 911 to scare a resident?" Joe choked out in disbelief.

"The pills are important," Donny said, frowning as if this should be obvious. "If he doesn't take his pills he becomes violent

and then we have to call you. So we're just saving you the trouble now."

Eric felt like pointing out that they did not have to call 911 if a patient became violent. It was his job to keep the patient under

control, not theirs.

"Where is he now?" Joe asked, sounding as impatient as he felt.

Donny gestured lazily towards the stairs that led to the second floor. "Oh, he's asleep."

"You called 911 for a patient who's fast asleep? A patient that posed no threat to anyone at the moment because he refused his

pills?" Eric snapped.

Donny shifted nervously as he took a step away from them as if they were crazy.

"Sir, do you realize that when you call 911 for a nonemergency that you're taking away resources that might be needed

elsewhere?" Joe demanded in an all business-like tone. Eric wouldn't have bothered with the niceties. He would have just

called the guy a fucking moron and accepted the write up.

"It is an emergency," Donny muttered pathetically.

"A ctually, we're not sure whether he took his pills or not," a woman said.

Joe and Eric looked past Donny to find a rather rotund middle aged woman walking towards them with a thick black binder

and several prescription bottles.

Donny huffed at the woman. "I know he didn't take his pills tonight."

The woman held up the binder. "Tom marked the sheet that he gave the pills tonight."

"He did not, because he left five hours before the pills were due so he obviously messed up," Donny snapped at the woman

whose face was turning bright red with embarrassment.

"The pill count doesn't add up either," the woman mumbled.

Donny rolled his eyes. "You're new here. You still don't know how this works."

The woman looked like she was about to cry and really if they didn't get the hell out of here soon so he could go home he

would, too. "Do you mind if I look?" he asked the woman with patience he wasn't feeling.

She nodded as she handed him the binder with her thumb bookmarking a section. "That's for A dam. He's supposed to take three

pills, three times a day, but when I counted the pills there are ten too many in each bottle. I don't think he's been taking them."

"Let me see those," Donny snapped, grabbing the bottles and quickly counting the contents of the first bottle. A fter the first

count he counted again and his face went pale. "This can't be right."

Great, so they had no fucking clue when the guy took his pills last.

"Police," a familiar voice announced with a loud knock at the door. A few seconds later Tyler, a cop they'd run into from time

to time stepped into the house.

"Hey, Tyler," Joe said with a warm smile.

"Hi, Joe."

Call him crazy, but Eric really didn't think the smile and look Tyler was giving Joe was something a happily engaged man

should be doing. It was certainly doing a great job of pissing him off though. He was already pissed about this bullshit call and

having a cop devour Joe with his eyes was not helping.

"They want us to play the boogie man and scare a patient into taking his meds," Eric said brusquely, drawing Tyler's attention

back to him.

Tyler frowned. "A re you fucking kidding me?"

"Nope," Joe said, making the word pop.

"He's, um, he's very dangerous without his meds," Donny stammered defensively.

"Considering no one seems to know the last time he took his pills maybe you should have called his doctor instead of 911,"

Eric pointed out.

Donny opened his mouth probably to argue, but then sighed and nodded his head. "You're right. I'm really sorry about this, but

could you please give us a hand since you are here?" he asked, sounding close to crying. When Eric and Joe shared a look with

Tyler, Donny quickly added. "A dam's upstairs right now if you want to talk to him."

Joe opened her mouth to say something only to be cut off by the linebacker now gawking at them. "You're here for A dam?" he

asked in disbelief. "Good luck with that. That guy's a crazy son of a bitch!" The rest of the patients quickly nodded their

agreement.

Oh, that couldn't be good, Eric thought dryly. When all the psychiatric patients could agree on what patient should scare you

shitless it was never a good sign.

A pparently Joe agreed if the glare she sent him was any indication. "You are so buying me dinner tonight. Don't even think

about arguing,"

she said in the same tone she used one week every month when she couldn't get enough chocolate and everything he did seemed

to piss her right the hell off. Was it the twenty-third already, he idly wondered. Nah, he still had another two weeks before he

had to wear a cup.

"Fine, but I hope you like ordering your meal through a clown's mouth," he snapped back.

Shaking her head in disgust, Joe gestured for Donny to show them to the patient. A fter a pregnant pause the man reluctantly

started up the stairs, followed by Joe and him at eye level with her perfectly rounded ass. Hey, if he was stuck doing a bullshit

call he was going to enjoy the perks.

"You're buying me a steak dinner," Joe hissed softly to him so she wouldn't startle their soon-to-be unhappy patient.

He snorted. "The only steak dinner you'll get out of me tonight is a burnt hamburger patty covered in canned gravy."

"You cheap bastard!" she hissed, making him grin. That is until the bastard trailing after them that he'd forgotten all about

opened his big mouth.

"I'd be more than happy to make this call up to you, Joe, with a steak dinner," Tyler announced eagerly.

Without pausing Joe looked back at Tyler and gave him the sweetest smile. "A w, you're so sweet, Tyler," she whispered as

she turned to watch where she was going, but not before she stuck her tongue out at him.

Eric glared over his shoulder at the other man. "You betraying bastard!" he whispered, more like hissed.

Tyler grinned triumphantly as he mouthed, "I know."

Chapter 9

Joe bit back a yawn as she watched Donny cautiously approach the small sleeping figure curled up on one of the two twin beds

in the small and rather depressing room. Her eyes darted to the other twin bed and noted that it was stripped. No roommate in

her opinion was a good thing since they usually got in the way. She really hated it when they tried to "help."

"He's engaged," Eric whispered in her ear as they waited for Donny to grow a pair of balls and wake the guy up. He was

adding way too much drama to the situation and was bound to agitate the patient.

"So?" she whispered softly, keeping her eyes on the patient.

She could practically feel Eric roll his eyes behind her. "So, I don't think his fiancé would appreciate you going out for a steak

dinner with him," he explained softly near her ear.

Now it was her turn to roll her eyes. "He's not buying me a steak dinner tonight."

"Good."

"You are."

His answer was an amused snort. "Good luck with that, sweetheart."

"Keep it up and I'll be adding an appetizer and a dessert to my list of demands," she whispered softly back.

He was quiet for a moment. She assumed that he was probably wondering when this guy was going to get around to talking to

the patient instead of standing there shifting nervously near the bed.

"A re you planning to put out?" he whispered, his warm breath teasing her ear and neck, sending goose bumps racing along her

skin.

It was a little unnerving that she almost shouted, god yes. Her reactions to him were seriously starting to creep her out a bit.

This was Eric, her best friend, the guy she'd grown up with and most likely the guy she'd fight with over the last tapioca

pudding in fifty years at whatever nursing home was stupid enough to accept both of them.

She needed a real vacation, some rest and she definitely needed to start dating again. That was the only explanation for her

reactions to him.

It had been way too long since the last time she'd been with a man. Was it May or June of last year that she ended things with

that cop from Northville? A year and a half without sex was obviously making her crazy.

Okay, so in all fairness she'd been aware of Eric that way for far longer than a year and a half. What heterosexual woman in her

right mind wouldn't be? He was devastatingly handsome in that bad boy way that she really liked. He was also smart, funny and

great to be around. If he wasn't her best friend she would-There was no use finishing that train of thought. The fact was he was

her best friend and nothing more. Not that she wanted things to change. She didn't. She loved that they were comfortable with

each other and could tell each other everything. He was her rock and if he was anything more than her best friend she'd be lost.

He was the guy she bitched to, not about.

"Only if you let me get ice cream with my dessert," she countered back softly, forcing her mind to jump back into the rhythm of

their relationship and stay there.

Eric let out a disappointed sigh. "Damn, if only you weren't a little gold digger."

"If only," she mumbled distractedly as she watched Donny finally grow a pair and approach the patient. Of course his

willingness to get it over with might have something to do with Tyler standing next to him looking pissed. No doubt he was.

"A dam, you need to wake up and take your pills," Donny said nervously.

"No," A dam said firmly as he rolled over to glare at Donny.

One look at the man that instilled fear in everyone in the house left her a little confused. He was small, smaller than her and

thin. Granted she knew that didn't always mean the person was weak, but seriously this guy had a man the size of a football

player quaking in his drawers.

Did he have a history with weapons? Fire? Mutilation? It really would have been nice if they'd given them a little heads up, but

then again the patient wasn't technically their patient yet and that meant they had no legal rights to his medical records. A

pparently they were just here to scare the hell out of him into taking his pills and hope he didn't flip out in the process.

This plan sucked.

"A dam-"

"I SA ID GO A WAY!" A dam bellowed as he jumped to his feet on his bed and swung at Donny, who thankfully stumbled

back in surprise seconds earlier.

"Oh my god!" Donny cried as he ran from the room, leaving the three of them to deal with him.

Great. Just great.

"Relax," Tyler said in a soothing tone.

A dam looked like he was about to say something when his eyes landed on them. He gestured at them wildly as he shifted from

foot to foot on his bed. "I'm not going with you!" he screeched.

Without a word they both stepped forward and broke off to flank the officer. Joe moved to Tyler's right, keeping her hands

loose by her sides and visible and without looking she knew Eric was doing the same.

They learned long ago that approaching a combative patient with your palms up was a bad idea. Most people probably thought

the gesture was placating, but in reality it usually put people on the defensive pretty quickly. In a stressful situation like this one

it could be taken as a defensive stance and the last thing any of them wanted at the moment was to make this guy feel like he

needed to protect himself.

"A dam?" she said, keeping her tone friendly. "My name's Joe. Do you know why we were called tonight?"

A dam's eyes darted cautiously over the two men. "You're here to take me back to the hospital. I'm not going! I haven't done

anything wrong!"

he said, shifting again.

She shook her head. "No, we weren't called to transport you."

"You're lying!"

"I promise you that we were not called to transport you tonight. We were actually called because the staff here isn't sure if